The people have spoken: Barbie will become a computer engineer. And a news reporter.
Results of the 2009 Barbie Global Career Survey – called the ‘Girls’ Vote’ on the results announcement page – swung in favor of ‘News Anchor.’ But the ‘Popular Vote’ conducted online during the last month and promoted here has delivered geek …

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Equality

Already equal?

Down here in Spain, you can often see women 'mucking in' with the lads, doing the rounds on the back of the bin lorry and hosing out the big street bins. Not sure Mattel have such a doll planned yet though.

I've yet to see any disproportionate computer engineers, although my search continues...

Equality?

re. the good jobs

My local municipal refuse and recycling facility, a.k.a. 'the dump', has a woman working there who climbs into the skips and levels the loads, picks out stuff that has been put in the wrong skip etc. I don't know if she rides the bin wagons but after seeing her moving around like lightning in those skips, I'm sure she could do it.

Sorry, but

Not sure that "reality" is entirely the point.

My guess is that since the majority of Barbie recipients (and buyers, i.e., parents, guardians, grandparents) would not know a real- deal computer engineer from a coffee- shop- resident "creative developer" (since "they all work with computers"), Mattel(R) went lowest common denominator to indicate "computeriness" with an obvious t-shirt, laptop, and cellphone/ crackberry (the specific Bluetooth addition is probably for "marketing synergy"). On the other side, if Mattel can make CE Barbie somewhat stylish [start_optimism] that might push more young women (and trans youth) to pursue math and science [/end-optimism] ... which bespeaks a horrifically sad state of affairs, but given the yoof I see and hear 'round these parts such a strategy stands as much chance as any.

It's a bit early...

A bluetooth earpiece? SERIOUSLY?

Surely the only people who actually use those are men in the grip of an age-related crisis, causing them to believe that they look either too busy/important to actually hold a phone, or like someone out of star trek?

Last one I saw was yesterday, accompanied by the words "That'll be two pound please luv; want any of this curly kale too? Picked fresh this morning..."

And a huge one, at that!

I have to throw my hat in with this bit about the Bluetooth earpiece. Except that I do not find it limited to age-related crisis, but an even mix of attention whores, those who think it is just "neat," those who forget it is there (perhaps because no one ever calls them,) and those who do not have anything better to do with the bloody thing.

I would almost fall into that later category were it not for SonyEricsson including a handy lanyard which allows me to dangle the otherwise obnoxious accessory from my neck when not in use.

That, and look how big some of these things are! Good God, is it really necessary to cover up your entire ear and/or half your face? I really like my little HBH-610 which is about two inches long and about a half-inch at its widest, and weighs about a feather-fart. Not to mention I think the Barbie version probably represents a choking hazard.

My biggest gripe about these things is, again, most people who wear them inconsiderately: hanging out with their mates, on a date (in some cases both sexes on the date have them in place,) and, the best yet, USING THE BATHROOM! Have we become too wired when you cannot use a public john without experiencing the necessity to call someone back when you are done shaking your tally whacker -- or managing whatever other parts you have? Next biggest is how people feel the need to speak loudly, even though the things easily pick up a whisper while still tuning out background noise (well, unless you buy cheap ones or the Chinese knock-offs.) In these cases, I guess the real thing also represents a choking hazard.

But, then again, I suppose we should not be so quick to judge. There are these hearing boosters made to look like Bluetooth earpieces for the hard-of-hearing to wear. Then you just have to make sure the user is not on a phone when you begin speaking to them.

Tool hatin'

Or ... people who need to use both hands for a job while still communicating? Like, y'know, technicians? Or engineers?

Then again, what do I know. I'm just a geek who much prefer the SAR value of the VMX 100 to the one of the cellphone it talks to, and who find the lack of cables such a benefit when talking to people AND writing code at the same time. Who knew tools could sprout such emotional responses ...

PS: No, I have no scientific proof one way or the other on the topic of SAR values and cellphones, but frankly less is more when it comes to radiation up by my head.

But where are her gadgets?

"Don't be fooled by these - I know what I'm doing."

I presume neither the Society of Women Engineers nor the National Academy of Engineering have actually seen a real female Computer Engineer - except in a press release.

Judging by the ones we have at our hollowed-out volcano...

She should be wearing: a Reg "Don't mess with the Moderatrix" T shirt, multi-pocketed work trousers, Doc Martins and a look of utter contempt for her colleagues.

For her lair you need: a pile of miscellaneous cards, cables and hard drives, an overflowing shelf stuffed with of manuals and odd bits of paper, several part-used boxes of cat 5, a state-of-the-art coffee machine, a stolen ash tray full of screws, a traffic cone, a cattle-prod, a voodoo doll...

Anyway WTF is "geek chic"?

Just guessing

"Anyway WTF is "geek chic"?"

I assume, it's some sort of commercialization of the geek look. You know, it takes years for a black t-shirt to fade to an unnamed shade of gray. That is the geek thing. You can also buy an anthracite colored t-shirt, and that (I think) is geek chick. So from a distance, you look geekish, but up close your shirt looks clean, new, no wrinkles, no holes. Stylish even.

When you are a geek and you want a bag, you buy a second hand army bag in a surplus store. When you are a chic geek, you buy an olive green bag from a well known and respected (in certain circles) fashion design house.

To be honest, it IS Mattel.

I doubt SWE had much say in the matter after the Barbie people stepped in and decided to pink everything up. It's the same plastic doll wearing the same plastic smile and the same 50s-era eyeshadow with the same unrealistic body proportions.

At first, I thought, given the sort of shirts that Think Geek and the like have, you could do some actual tie-ins. You know, maybe have a shirt that has a big Autobot or Decepticon logo. But no, those are Hasbro. Maybe 'Sorry, but your princess is in another castle', but that's Nintendo. Me wife suggested "Natural 20", but that's TSR. So I look to see what things Mattel DOES make. Barbie, Hot Wheels, that's pretty much it.

Actually, Mattel also owns He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. She could have had a tattered shirt that said 'She-Ra' but given Barbie's shape, maybe Skeletor would be more appropriate.

Real engineers?

Real engineers build engines?

So, um, why do you say she doesn't have said engineering degree? Or is Dentist barbie practicing without a license as well?

I will note, despite having said magic slip of paper myself, an engineering degree is a poor judge of someone's programming ability. And pointing out that the term engineer has been diluted only reminds us of nascent and immature computing, as a whole, is.

Wot he said

Heartily concur,

With an Engineering Degree an employer can at least be assured you have a "Proper" Degree and not one of the Mickey Mouse ones churned out by the rebranded polytechnics, though to be fair, when they were Polytechnics they excelled at their remit of teaching Technology. Sadly the rush to growth by the new "Universities" has resulted in a lowering of academic standards ( UEA is a particularly bitter example ) and a substantial number of disillusioned and indebted graduates who now realise that their degrees are worthless and that they are tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

Real plumbers

Real plumbers need certification, registration and license, without them you're not actually a plumber.

This is actually recognised in most developed countries of the world. Without a license your an apprentice, journeyman or Mr. fixit.

Then again you could say the same for doctors, electricians, lawyers, masons. Every group has their way of restricting access to professions in order to keep rates up. Depending on how good their group is at influencing pols, you can't even fix your own sink legally. Heck, I've even seen states where flower arranging required testing and licensure. About the only thing that I've never seen that didn't require at least some brains is politician.

Real engineers ... don't bother

So without a degree you're a 'technician or repairman'? What a load of male bovine excrement - and sounds suspiciously like the usual tired line that the BCS (or whatever they're called this month) have been trotting out.

Personally I'd prefer to work alongside a colleague who had demonstrated some professional achievement. Note that a degree is _not_ the only way to do this - which means that the talented individuals who've spent their time in the trenches to good effect would also qualify. Otherwise you're in HR La-la Land where they'd prefer to take a snot-nosed uni escapee to that grizzled campaigner with a good history of achieved projects.

Back onto the subject - when I went to the Mattel shop, no sign of the new Comp Eng Barbie - just curious you understand... Such disappointment! Mind you, I've been lucky enough to be able to work alongside some real great female engineer colleagues.

Real Engineer

Though I have an engineering degree, I realize that any job title like "Engineer" is based on a job description in a purely competitive manner. If someone has an engineering degree yet works at the local grocery store ringing people up, are they still an engineer? Schools stopped preparing people for a career a long time ago. If someone has proved themselves through merit they should be given the proper title.

And as "Helpdesk Ken" minces into the office

So whiny

Come on, at least this is a step in the right direction. I see there's a 'Dentist Barbie' on sale already - do you think that's accurate too? The whole point of Barbie is that kids don't want to play with realistic toys, they want to make believe.

Having said that, I kind of agree about the bluetooth headset. But at least she has a vaguely geeky T-shirt and a laptop.

Photo's wrong somehow

So what does it do then?

Presumably, you can't get out of ts box before 11am in the morning, the laptop is permanently attached to its hand and you can only order it by submitting a piece of Perl code less than 103 bytes long that prints out the order form in ASCII?

Hmm.. Shows willing but must try harder.

Real computer engineers do not look like this. She has a HAPPY SMILE for Eris' sake! You want the expression that says "How am I going to explain to these morons that you can't have a hundred people all video-conferencing over a fucking 512Kb/sec ADSL line."

Where's Ken?

It is just a toy

that is being used to cynically shape little growing minds.

Where is the harm in that, sure I am in the middle of Helmand's Province under sniper fire in fear of losing my life, with a cord coming out of my back which if you pull it gives me the compulsion to say some random phrase such as 'Volunteer Needed for Special Mission'. But I don't think playing with Action Men has had any bearing on my future choice of vocation.